The Fallen
by cozashsaidso
Summary: Four friends are running from the Winter Princes and out of the Nevernever when, accidentally, they run straight into Cross Academy. The Night Class get the shock of their lives, and how long will it take for the friends' secret to come out? Who are they? But more importantly, WHAT are they? And what will happen when they meet the Night Class boys... (rated T just to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Run

Five figures dodged through the wyldwood, silent as the grave. Only a snapped twig or withered leaf underfoot to show they had ever been there. As they moved, the darkness of the moonless night seemed to cloak them, their passage going unnoticed by most of the wyldwoods' inhabitants, though the ones that did notice knew enough to stay away, and stay silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath, like some powerful force was controlling the very air they moved through.

The first of the figures wore a green hoodie and brown leather pants that were well worn and smooth. A hint of unruly red hair sneaked from under his hood. His glittering green eyes searched the area ahead, leading his four companions safely away from the ponds containing kelpies with cold silver eyes, and will o' the wisps like floating lanterns, radiating their eerie light. Next came the smallest figure, a cloak of white with cool grey edging hung from her shoulders and her hood concealed her face so that only a whisper of dark, chocolate brown hair could be seen. The girl exuded an air of intelligence and authority. Just behind her was the third of the five, wearing a dark grey cloak, made just like the former girls', which breezed behind her effortlessly. She ran with slightly more speed than her companion in front of her. Also like the previous girl she had a strong aura, not of wisdom or intelligence, but of grace and a certain degree of unpredictability.

The latter two girls were the ones that inspired the fear striking those in the wyldwood. The first of the two, running just ahead of the other, wore a cloak of grey wolf fur streaked with black, and like the other girls her face was concealed beneath the black under her hood. She radiated an aura as well, but whereas the other two had seemed almost pleasant, she was simply feral. She shifted between the gnarled dark trees with more conviction than the others.

The last of the group was the darkest of them all. She was shrouded in a pure black cloak that whipped around her as she danced through the trees after the others. Her face was invisible from the blackness that surrounded her, a blackness that was almost alive. The silence that was stopping any evidence of the groups' passing emanated from her entire being, like she was smothering their noise under a thick cover.

All of the four girls were dirty and smeared with dried blood stains and soot. Their cloaks had a ragged air, like they had seen better days. Much better days. But their owners were quite obviously still alive and kicking. If only just. Exhaustion clung to them, was exhaled by their every, tired, pained, breath.

The sounds of pursuit echoed through the trees, bouncing from trunk to trunk. Shouts and calls from one Thornguard to the other. Above it all Rowan's voice could be heard screaming orders, the Winter Prince was quite obviously livid that his quarry was escaping him. With him was a team of around ten drowsy looking Thornguards, who were becoming more awake by the second, though having been dragged from their beds at 1am, their reluctance to carry out the chase was understandable.

But despite their formidable hunters, the group of five continued to run through the wyldwood, heading towards their destination, and freedom.

All of a sudden, the first of the girls collapsed to the floor, her body limp and her eyes tightly closed.

"What's wrong with Fi?" whispered the grey-cloaked figure, urgency lacing her smooth voice. The figure all in black knelt down beside the unconscious girl, taking in her closed eyes and loose position.

A shout sounded from between the trees around 600 metres behind them and the girl in the wolf coat said softly, "Wake her up, Az, we need to go!"

"We can't wake her up, that's for sure." replied the girl in black. "She's out cold. Hey, Puck, how far are we from the clearing?" she inquired of the red-haired boy.

"Not far." he said. "Only about 400 metres…"

"Well, I'll just have to carry her then." sighed Az, reaching out to start wrapping her arms around the unconscious form.

"No, I'll take her," intervened Puck, lifting Fi into his arms so that she was curled against his chest and her head rested on his shoulder, "We need you to open the portal for us, which you're already nearly too exhausted to do as it is." he explained to Az, his eyes darting around anxiously.

The fur-coated girl began to usher them on, "He's catching up!" she insisted as the four broke into a sprint. Suddenly, a crash sounded from the trees behind and they glanced back to see three Thornguards catch sight of the group, and start to run towards them, but they were still a while back. Then their escape route came into view. Just ahead the trees opened out into a huge, beautiful clearing. Lush green rushes waved in a slight breeze that seemed to affect only them, bordering the edge of a gorgeous clear lake with a surface as flat and smooth as a pane of glass.

Puck stopped by the edge of the water, turning round as the girl in black, Az, strode to the front of the group.

"Watch them, Tal." she muttered, indicating the approaching Thornguards to the girl in the fur coat, who consequently turned and assumed a loose, ready-looking fighting stance facing the oncoming soldiers.

"Now stand back!" she warned the other two, who wisely heeded her warning and took a large step back.

Az let her arms drop to her sides and her cape started to whip around her shoulders with violent snaps and flicks. She slowly raised her arms, elbows held just away from her waist and forearms facing outwards horizontally. Her palms turned face up and her posture straightened, the previous signs of exhaustion leaving her body for those few precious seconds. As she stood there, blackness seemed to curl out of her hands like smoke, twisting and writhing and spreading out to form a loose, person-sized circle in the air in front of her. Wisps of visible blackness trailed from the edges of the circle into the surrounding area and polluting the lake water, turning it an icy, unfriendly black. Then a faint picture began to form in the centre of the ring. Hints of sunlight leaked through and the whole scene looked like the girl had wiped away the world in front of her with her black smoke, revealing a glistening picture underneath.

Her arms dropped back to her sides and her fatigue returned, even more pronounced than before. Her shoulders hunched and she swayed on her feet slightly before regaining her posture and spinning to face the others.

"Go, go, go!" she shouted.

Puck jumped through the circle unhesitatingly, Fi still limp in his arms. Then went Tal, her fur coat lashing the air behind her as she leaped through. Hot on her heels jumped the grey-coated girl, moving with as much grace as she could muster without dropping to the floor from exhaustion herself. All of them stayed suspended in the air for the briefest moment before vanishing from sight.

Finally went Az. Now the guards were only 50m away and closing fast. She had seconds to get herself through the portal that was already beginning to weaken and close. She caught a glimpse of the others through the flickering circle of smoke and gathered her strength to jump. She ran three steps, gaining speed, and leaped with all her might.

For an endless millisecond she was suspended in the space between the two worlds, flying soundlessly, weightless and free. Her cape flapped around her like soaring wings and the last traces of that inky darkness oozed from her skin, disappearing into The Between. Then her feet rammed into solid ground and she stumbled, her weakened legs barely taking her weight. As she rolled onto the ground she looked around, catching sight of two groups of people all staring at the five open-mouthed. The closest group seemed to be mainly girls, all dressed in some sort of blue uniform. The other group were dressed in a sort of white version of the other groups' uniform, and were headed by a group of five boys, all stood perfectly still, eyes wide, but she couldn't quite process their features as she only threw them a glance before setting her eyes on her friends, who she saw drop to the tarmac like stones, the 12-hours-of jet-lag sort of effect that using the portals had on them taking hold.

Puck had Fi still safely in his arms and they fell together silently. Tal and the girl with the dark grey coat crumpled under the weight of the exhaustion that had been haunting them all since…. Well, a long time. The added fatigue from the portal wasn't so bad for her though, as she was the one that had created it in the first place, but her remaining energy still felt like it was being drained from her body faster than she could think.

Then a sudden fiery lance of pain leapt through her left shoulder. White-hot fire burning its way into her flesh.

Her vision went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanx to my reviewers! And to everybody else reading please please please review coz id like to know if u like it XD XD XD XD luv yas and here's Chappie 2 (YAY!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the Iron Fey or any of the characters in either. All other characters are OC's and for the record Matsuri Hino and Julie Kagawa are both pretty awesome…. Just sayinnnnnn :D

Chapter 2: Sage

Az's mind cleared as a pure shot pain and utter fury shot through her veins, and she saw red. Her fatigue was gone for now, washed out by the adrenaline and she reached her right hand over her left shoulder to yank out a dagger now covered in her thick, dark blood. The impact had easily knocked her to her knees due to her weakened state and she straightened up now.

The blood was beginning to run down her back and soak through her shirt and cloak, but the wound was already beginning to stop throbbing, even though the dagger had definitely sunken deep into her shoulder and she winced as she turned to face her attacker.

Sage.

She looked at him from the dark under her hood, for which she was now grateful, as she didn't want him to see her shocked reaction to him. He must have tracked them through the portal. She hadn't even realised that he had been tracking them in the first place. But why was she surprised? Tracking was what Sage did, after all.

Bane stood by his master's side, calm, but tense and ready to leap. The huge wolf was looking at her with sad eyes from his (roughly) six foot vantage point. His sleek grey fur had been brushed back by the speed of his running through the wyldwood. Chasing them. He knew what she was, even if his master didn't. He had an inbuilt fear of her kind anyway, an instant recognition. It ran through his blood, and he feared _her _in particular, as he knew what she was capable of, had seen her at her worst, and he knew that she was completely merciless when pushed to it.

Az and Tal had been friends with the huge grey wolf once, well before Sage had been born. Their other two companions, who Az loved dearly as well, had been away and for a while it had just been the two of them, wild and wicked. He and Tal had had a bond, as he was part of her familiars' species. Bane had run with Tal and Az across the white, frozen plains of Winter, moving so fast they had left no imprint in the snow.

But those days were gone now, instead she had to face him and Sage in combat, alone as well, because Tal, Fi, Puck and the grey-coated girl, who's nick-name was Theia, were all lying prone, still and passed out on the tarmac. As Sage pulled out his sword, his glacier green eyes flickering sadly, he muttered "I didn't want it to come to this." Knowing she could hear him perfectly. For a moment, she was tempted to pull back her hood, if only to face him properly again. But the impulse passed quickly and her resolve hardened to stone once more, plus, she had witnesses, and she never showed her face if she wasn't sticking around for long, neither did the others, it was a defence mechanism.

Sage's fine features turned impassive as that briefest flicker of emotion left his face. His high cheekbones and ivory hair pulled back in a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck were all reminders of some memory that she had tried so hard to forget. But that perfect time was over now. Rowan had made sure of that. Both of the remaining Winter Princes had hearts of ice, and she had followed suit, at least towards them, though she knew better than anyone that they hadn't always been that way.

Then Bane crouched, sitting low on his haunches, ready to spring, though he still looked reluctant. The rosy, late afternoon sunlight glinted off Sage's sword, highlighting the threads of electric blue ice running down the blade. She gripped the blood-soaked dagger that she had taken from her shoulder tightly in her strong grip, feeling that familiar numbness come over her and she knew that her eyes were turning an unforgiving, pure black. Her blood started to drip onto the tarmac, finally having run all the way down her back, and the road started to fizzle and hiss as her blood landed on it.

Behind her she was vaguely aware that the two groups of uniformed people were shouting at them, waving their arms and yelling, but she blocked them out. She saw one of the figures in the darker uniform, a boy with silver hair, approach the five boys in white, talking rapidly and gesturing wildly. If she could, she would deal with them later, being slightly curious as to where they had portalled to.

She refocused all of her attention on the pair in front of her and she intended to make the best use of the electricity still running under her skin, though she knew it was only a matter of time before that ran out as well, and then they were all done for. She had to knock Sage and Bane out and get them back through the portal before it closed, because even after 500 years she still wasn't prepared to kill either of them. However she had no such qualms about Rowan, the little son of a…

All these thoughts flickered through her head within a few seconds and automatically she assumed fighting stance, that numbness taking hold of her completely.

Then she disappeared. Literally.

In a twirl of black smoke she had vanished, and only too late did Sage and Bane realise she was behind them, dagger at the ready, smoke writhing and twisting around her body like liquid obsidian.

Sage spun, swinging his sword expertly. She ducked under his blow and used the dagger to twist the sword from his hands. In the same second she swung she hilt of the dagger at Bane's head, then, twisting around to throw a powerful kick to the wolf's large, muscular midsection, sent the huge beast falling back through the wavering portal, the blow to his head having rendered him unconscious.

Then she turned to Sage, ducking and dodging around his swings before landing a punch to his stomach that knocked the wind from his lungs. He bent over, panting to regain his breath and she kicked the backs of his legs, knocking him onto one knee, facing the open portal.

Briefly, she wondered where Rowan had gotten to, or if he had simply missed the portal. She wouldn't be surprised if he had, he wasn't as good as Sage at tracking, and she had been thorough at covering their noise and hiding the portal once one the other side once she had jumped through.

She leant toward Sage, about to whisper a certain word into his ear… so occupied that she didn't see the six fast-moving shapes hurtling towards her.

All of a sudden, a weight flew into her back, arms wrapping around her waist, slamming into her still open, still painful wound. She gasped in pain and fell forward, gathering enough coherency through the blur of movement to shove Sage headfirst through the portal.

Az felt her vision start to go blurry and she knew her eyes were fading back to their normal colour, she was losing consciousness, and quickly. She had to hurry before she blacked as well, because they weren't safe yet, then again, they never really were. She had to hand it to Puck for having the bravery and resilience to tag along.

She twisted out of the new-comers grip, neatly spinning on her heels to push him off her.

Instead, she froze for a moment, finding herself face to face with a beautiful boy with maroon hair and crystalline grey-blue eyes. Her brain slowly kicked back into gear, though she was still reeling from the desperation in the boy's gaze, he had been trying to stop her, but from what? Hurting Sage? Hurting herself? She had never intended to do either anyway. A wave of exhaustion overtook her and she swayed backwards a step, tearing her gaze from the one with the maroon hair and looking up to face the six boy's fully.

They were all surreally beautiful, like Sage was, but not quite as ethereal. The boy in the dark uniform had silver hair and deep lavender eyes, and was reaching out to pick up Tal, but he froze as her dangerous gaze fell upon him. If he even thought about hurting her friends then he wouldn't survive the next two minutes. She would kill him, even when she was about to collapse. She knew what she must look like to him though. A black wraith with an invisible face and a gaze that was so strong it was almost a physical force. He wisely took a step back from Tal, mouth open, hands up in a surrendering gesture. Strange, he didn't look like the type to surrender easy.

The first boy in white uniform, stood about two feet to the right of the silvarette, was really tall and slightly ginger. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his eyes were like burnt honey. His stance was ready, like he thought she was going to attack. Just next to him stood a smaller, pretty-boy blonde. His eyes were a swimming cerulean and he flinched as she looked at him. _Sensitive guy,_ she thought.

In the centre of the white clothed group was a boy with an air of complete grace and authority. He stood tall, his dark brown hair sweeping into his chocolate eyes. He was the one in charge around here, she could sense it. Last in the group of the six, gaping boys, was holding the maroon haired boy around the waist, having caught him after she had shoved him backwards. He had wheat blonde hair to his shoulders and crystal clear emeralds for eyes that took her in unflinchingly, just like his friend he was holding. Brave, that's what those two were. Very, very brave. She respected that at least.

She felt dizzy and the world began to spin. Her adrenaline rush had ended then. She turned unhesitatingly to face the portal one last time. Her back to the group of boys, but she could feel their eyes boring into her as she flung out her arms, cloak catching a non-existent wind and whipping around her, lashing the air. She heard six sharp intakes of breath fro behind her and with the last of her energy she drew the black smoke that she had used to form the portal back into her, absorbing it into every molecule of her body. The effect was that of a mini, inky black, horizontal hurricane spinning into her chest. She stumbled back a step as the black came to an end and she caught sight of all the boys stepping forward to pick up her friends, she would just have to trust everything to fate.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out just before a strong pair of arms wrapped around her, breaking her fall.

Then blackness.


	3. Chapter 3

More reviews please people! I need to know what to change and what u all think! And thanx to those already reviewing! Have a jelly baby XD

(just coz jelly babies rock…. ;D)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the Iron Fey or any of the characters in either. All other characters are OC's and for the record Matsuri Hino and Julie Kagawa are both pretty awesome…. Just sayinnnnnn :D

Chapter 3: Where are we…

Az was drifting peacefully, her eyes were tightly closed and her sleep was dreamless. Heaven…

The bliss of her rest was interrupted by a brusque hand shaking her, whispering at her to get up. She groaned and rolled over, swatting at the hand that had now resorted to poking her, and landing on her left shoulder, sitting bolt upright as a spark of pain flashed and then subsided almost instantly. But it was too late now, she was up and everything was rushing back in a confusing torrent.

The escape through the wyldwood flashed through her mind, then Sage and Bane, sadness hinting their eyes. Then she remembered two beautiful boys, one with wheat blonde hair and emerald eyes and the other with maroon hair and pleading, cerulean eyes. Finally, she remembered the portal closing and the faint feeling of falling and being caught before darkness enveloped her.

She shook those thoughts from her head and turned, aching, with pins and needles in her neck, to face… darkness? _Huh? _She thought.

Then came the same voice that had been whispering at her to get up, "Hey, right here sleepy head!" Oh, it was only Fi…

"Lemme alone! I wanna sleep!" she muttered before flopping back onto the comfy pillows.

Wait a second… Pillows?!

She shot up again, turning to face the direction Fi's voice had come from, switching her vision to Spirit-sight so that she could make her friend out in the darkness. Normally darkness wasn't a problem for her, but though she felt more rejuvenated and certainly more powerful after having slept, she didn't want to waste her energy manipulating it. She didn't like using Spirit-sight either, as although it was useful in many situations, it meant that though she was able to see perfectly well, every goddam living thing was surrounded by a silvery glow, which varied in brightness depending on the organisms life force. This could be quite confusing sometimes…

She looked around the room she was in, taking in the expensively decorated walls, the lush carpet, and the bed. The bed she was sat on was seriously soft, and the blankets and covers were made of a smooth, thick wool, with a warm silk throw over the top. Windows lined the entire top half of the wall to the left, giving the room an airy feel, but they were covered by _at least _three layers of curtains. Someone doesn't like sleeping with any excess light…

Or two someones.

She now realized that she and Fi were sat up, facing each other, on opposite sides of the luxurious king-sized bed. However, across the room, facing her and Fi was another king-size, which held the upright figures of Tal and Theia, who happened to be peering across in her and Fi's direction… ish.

"Hey, Fi!" said Theia, "Is she up yet? Because if she isn't them I'm going to come over there, lift her up and drop her from the ceiling!"

Az sighed and switched back to normal sight, the room going pitch black once more.

"Oi! Tal! Light up it up would ya?" she whispered across the room.

"Yup, she's up." came Tal's voice. A second later a ball of fire flickered into life, lighting Tal's face as she held it in her palm, away from the probably flammable bedspreads…

The ball of red light glowed and wavered, a sphere of twisting orange and red flames in a perfect, enclosed sphere.

The ball of flame hovered above Tal's palm for a moment before rising to float in the space between the two beds, illuminating the dark room so the friends could see each other.

Immediately, Tal and Theia got up, moving speedily and soundlessly over to Az and Fi's bed. They perched on the edge and Az and Fi crawled to meet them, flinching when of the bed springs creaked loudly.

"What do we do?" whispered Theia, getting straight to the point.

"Well first, I think Az should Ascend and find out if there is anyone around, and look out the window, and see if she can figure out where the hell we are!" exclaimed Fi, before quickly clapping a hand over her mouth in apology. It was quite obvious that she was worried…

Az reached over and wrapped her arms around her friend, her cloak swishing around her with the movement. She hugged Fi tightly and pulled away, keeping her hand on Fi's shoulder and looking her straight in the eye before saying, "We're going to be fine, darlin', just don't worry about it!" A smile touching her face.

Fi breathed deeply, shook out her cloak and smiled back, reassured. All four of them still had their hoods up, just in case someone happened to walk in, and Tal was poised to summon the fire back to her and leap back to the other bed with Theia at an instant's notice.

"Ok, well I agree with Fi that it's a good idea for you to Ascend and check the building out, maybe scout out an exit route." said Theia to Az.

"Will do," replied Az "I'll be right back…"

Az closed her eyes, getting that familiar falling feeling in her stomach as her body crossed dimensions. She opened one eye, seeing the others staring at her, or at least where they thought she was. She waved a hand in front of Theia's hooded face, just to check that she couldn't see her. The girl didn't even flinch. Az smiled to herself and rose from her sitting position, looking around to find the door over in the far left corner of the room, perpendicular to the windowed wall. She strolled over leisurely, pausing a moment just in front of the door, before leaning forward… and walking right through it. She emerged in a dimly lit corridor with a plush carpet, like the one in the room, lining the floor. The corridor was empty.

She started to creep to the right, as there was a windowed wall on her left, stepping with caution though she knew no-one could see, hear, or feel her when she had Ascended. She carried on down the corridor, the trade-mark luminescence of the astral plane. She was the only creature on Earth, at the moment, who could bodily cross between the real world and the astral plane, giving her quite a good advantage when it came to sneaking around. Plus, there was no unconscious body left behind while she was Ascended. Always a strategic bonus.

As she came to a corner she heard footsteps approaching and the same group of white-uniformed boys came into view.

They paused in the mouth of her corridor and the dark brunette asked the ginger and pretty-boy blonde to keep watch on the door.

Az watched them like a hawk, unmoving as they approached the door, relaxing when they leaned against the wall on either side of the entrance to the room. The blonde was complaining: "I don't see why they haveto use our room!" he grumbled.

Az grinned. _Those two are harmless_, she thought, before carrying on down the corridor behind the remaining three, hoping they would lead her to an exit.

Then they froze.

"There's someone here," muttered the dark haired boy, the one who had the air of a leader. "I can feel them…"

The other two looked around, startled, when something really strange happened.

They both looked her straight in the eye at exactly the same time. Her breath froze in her throat and her heart started to beat like a drum, so loud she could feel it. The maroon narrowed his eyes and nudged the wheat haired one.

"There." he muttered, pointing to exactly where she was standing, she could tell that the blonde could see exactly what his friend meant as well. Az couldn't understand it. This was impossible! Purely and plainly impossible! There was no way they could see her! Thoughts whizzed through her head, so she did the only thing that suited the situation.

She turned on her heel and ran. Sprinting down the corridor at tremendous speed, her breath too loud in her ears to hear what was happening behind her. She ran straight through the ginger stood outside their door, momentarily pausing to watch him shiver as she passed through him. She loved that. Then she ran straight into the room and collapsed onto the bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanku to everyone who has reviewed so far and I really hope u all like the next chapter! Things are going to get clearer from here on in I promise!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the Iron Fey or any of the characters in either. All other characters are OC's and for the record Matsuri Hino and Julie Kagawa are both pretty awesome…. Just sayinnnnnn :D

Chapter 4: Escape? Maybe not…

Az sank straight out of the astral plane and gasped at the sudden change. Her friends looked at her panting form, wide-eyed.

"What happened?!" asked Fi urgently.

Az related the whole incident to them, watching them go perfectly still as she told them why she had been running.

"But that's impossible!" mused Theia, though the grey-cloaked girl could sense the truth in her words beyond all doubt, seeing as that was where her abilities lay.

"What does it mean?" asked Tal, pulling her fur coat more tightly around her.

"God knows…" answered Fi absent-mindedly, and it was obvious to the others that she was mulling it over in that expansive mind of hers.

Az's breathing was slowing now, and she felt much safer now that she was back with the others. Not that self-defence was really an issue for her considering what her purpose was…

Either way, she was starting to feel tired again, and was seriously considering flopping back down and sleeping some more. Then when she woke up she would have enough strength to fight her way out of there with Tal should the need arise, she forced herself to get up and take a peek out the window, pulling the thick, heavy curtains back a couple of inches to be able to see out.

The night was dark but a full moon showed overhead. The sky was cloudless and there were paths winding through a small wood just outside the window, soft lanterns lit their red brick with a calm yellow light and the air was warm, blowing in through the slightly open window.

Az saw buildings scattered around, their lights all off. It was about 4 in the morning so that didn't surprise her. But she did wonder why those boys had been up at this time, and so awake as well!

Turning her attention back to the scene in front of her, peering with all her might through the windows of one of the nearest buildings. The room she saw looked almost like a schoolroom. A whiteboard was attached to the wall directly opposite her , and orderly desk were set out in perfect rows through the room.

Was this place… a school?!

She frowned to herself and retreated from the window, turning back to the others and describing what she had seen.

"Hey, guys, I'm tired again now after all that, so I'm gonna get some shut-eye if that's ok?" she said in the middle of a yawn.

She was sat back on the bed her back against the plump pillows.

"Good plan," said Fi. "I think it would do us all some good actually…"

But she was talking to empty air, as Tal and Theia were already moving back to the other bed.

Az giggled slightly, gaining narrowed eyes from Fi before turning onto her side and burying herself in the softness of the bed.

But Theia was still sat up.

"What's up, Theia?" asked Az softly, as Tal pulled the ball of fire from the air and back into her palm.

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

"How do we know they aren't going to come in and stab us in our sleep!" inquired Theia vehemently.

"To be perfectly honest," replied Fi, "If they were going to stab us I think they would have done it all ready. They've had plenty of opportunities."

Theia looked at her drily. "That makes me feel _so_ much better," she muttered.

"Wise one over there is right," said Az, indicating Fi, who shot her a playful glare for the nickname, to which Az just grinned.

"And either way, even if they did try to stab us, me and Az would just gut them in seconds, wouldn't we Az?" supplemented Tal, receiving a grin from Az aswell.

Theia laughed and settled down, seeming to accept this as a reasonable answer.

For a few moments there was a silence and just when Az was drifting of to sleep again, Fi lurched bolt upright with a gasp.

"What's wrong now!" came Tal's annoyed whisper.

"WHERE'S PUCK!" came the reply.

They were all up and moving around the room in milliseconds, trying not to stumble over things in the brief darkness.

Seconds later Tal's ball of fire flared back into the air, glowing brighter and bigger than earlier, lighting up every corner of the room.

Then Theia spotted a small camper bed, looking like it had just been erected, and in a hurry, crouched in the darkest corner of the room.

"There!" she exclaimed, caution going out the window. Az quickly switched her vision to Spirit-sight, identifying the auras of their two "guards" and finding that they were asleep. She sighed in relief, both out of finding Puck, and not alerting their two stupidly good-looking guards to their being awake.

A lanky shape was sprawled out on top of the bed, legs dangling over the ends of the beds, breathing slowed and sleeping fitfully.

Puck's red hair was rumpled and pointing every which way, his long lashes casting shadows on his perfect high cheekbones. His hood, unlike the others (whose hoods were enchanted to stay up with Az's blackness covering their faces), was tucked under his neck but his naturally pointed ears were automatically glamoured.

Fi gave an exclamation of relief, running softly over to his bed side and poking him to make sure he was really there.

When she had established that he was, she wrapped him in tight hug, at which point he turned in his sleep, wrapping his arms around Fi and muttering something that they couldn't hear.

The remaining three looked at each other knowingly, and with raised eyebrows, before suppressing the urge to burst out laughing by clapping their hands over each others mouths simultaneously. Either way, a few giggles could still be heard as they watched Fi painstakingly extract herself from Puck's embrace, careful not to wake him up.

When Fi stood once again, it was to turn to see the three other girls' straight-faced and looking perfectly innocent. Right up until Theia broke out into a snigger, the other two following suit. Fi rewarded them with a childish stuck-out tongue.

They all jumped back into bed, still laughing, relief making them sleepy as the previous rush of adrenaline when they had realized they were missing Puck wore out.

They flopped back onto their beds once more, Tal sucked the ball of fire back from the air, and the walls of the room stopped dancing as the flickering flames went out. They were plunged into darkness, and this time it stayed that way for quite a while as the room filled with the sounds of even breathing and the occasional rustle as someone moved in their sleep.

When they awoke again, it was to see the faintest stream of fading daylight leaking through the curtains. Az yawned, stretched, and closed her eyes, touching her power inside herself, happy to find it at full strength.

She turned to wake Fi up, though she girl was already kinda awake, so were Tal and Theia. Fi got up to shake Puck awake and everyone moved to sit on Az and Fi's bed.

"Well, it might be a good idea to think about finding out where we are, escaping if its nowhere good, and figuring out the _people_! I mean, who sees five strangers fall through a portal, watch one of them fight off a Winter Prince and a six-foot wolf, and then just take them inside and give them their bedrooms!" said Theia (Az had told them about the whole Sage incident the night before).

"I think we should definitely find out where we are," mused Fi, "But maybe keep the people to a minimum. We don't want to have to deal with too many at once, and last I saw there were quite a few."

"Ok then," said Az, "So we find one or two people, thank them for lending us the beds, then leg it?"

"Sounds about right." answered Fi, glancing around at everyone.

"Good plan in my opinion." shrugged Puck.

"I'm good with that." said Theia.

"So when should we get going?" asked Tal. Obviously there was no doubt in her mind, nor anybody else's in fact, that since they were at full power, they could get out of wherever they were easily.

"I say we leave about two hours before dawn, then everybody should still be asleep, and we have enough time to rest some more before we go." volunteered Fi.

"Yes, but let's go get food as soon as we're out, coz I'm starving!" said Tal, earning a collective laugh seeing as Tal was _always_ hungry.

They all climbed back into bed, and the time passed quickly. Soon they were all up and moving silently to the door. Az opened it quietly, peeking outside to find that there was no-one there.

She and Tal stalked down the corridor first, Mist curling around their arms, forming two hunting knives, as black as obsidian for Az, and two samurai swords that flickered with a bluish sapphire light for Tal. They held their weapons expertly, prepared to fight within a moment's notice.

They reached the main corridor, finding it empty, and proceeded to run through the building, Az's silence cloaking their footsteps.

Soon they caught sight of a faint pair of double doors at the end of a corridor, and ran towards them eagerly. They emerged in a massive, tastefully decorated foyer with two elegant staircases leading down to the first floor..

And froze. The double doors were now open, and the whole group of white-uniformed people were stood perfectly still in the space between the curving staircases.

And they were looking straight at the five of them.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the wait! Here's Chapter 5 and if u can then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! If u do I will love u forever XD Just for the record I need reviews so that I know im pleasing SOMEBODY when im writing this…. No pressure or anything! XD So here it is…..

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the Iron Fey or any of the characters in either. All other characters are OC's and for the record Matsuri Hino and Julie Kagawa are both pretty awesome…. Just sayinnnnnn :D

Chapter 5: Stay or go?

Az and Tal reacted in seconds.

Pushing Theia and Fi behind them brusquely, they vanished in streams of writhing black smoke and twisting sapphire mist, reappearing between the two sweeping arms of the staircase and grabbing the first uniformed people within reach.

Puck remained stood at the top of the stairs, poised and ready in between Theia and Fi. His knives were out and gleaming in the dim light and he had a wicked grin on his face.

Az and Tal wrapped their arms around their hostages throats, Az with her knives there, and Tal with her swords. Both had and eerie, dark glow, like the shadows in the room were coagulating and seeping towards them.

In a flash of swirling dark cloaks and wraith-like movement, they were stood back at the top of the stairs, the two boys locked in choke holds to prevent them from fighting back.

In the loud silence that followed, all Az could hear was the beating of the boys heart, rapid against her calm pulse. Breaking her focus for a second, Az realised she had picked up the blonde with the emerald eyes, and Tal had taken the tall one with orange-blonde hair and the shirt with the open top buttons.

As the silence continued Az became more and more aware of the boy pressed against her, and some part of her recognized how extraordinarily good-looking he was. Without even looking, she could tell from Tal's aura that her friend was having the same problem.

Az inched closer to Fi and Theia, who she was now stood in the middle of. Puck had moved and was stood on Fi's other side, and Tal was stood on Theia's. This was the position they had always assumed when under threat, with Fi and Theia protected in the middle, and Az, Tal and Puck in the best possible positions to protect them.

Then the silence broke.

"Do you want to harm us?" asked Theia in a clear, unwavering voice.

Az spared a second to glance over at her friend, sending her a mental question mark via the link that the four girls had.

_I' m trying to read them, so I know if they're lying and if we should get out of here, _came the reply.

Az nodded her agreement, and she knew that Theia would send the same reasoning to Tal and Fi.

Az looked down to see the tall boy with black hair opening his mouth in reply when someone else shouted "No!"

Her head whipped round to face who had spoken, her eyes landing on the pretty boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, currently wide with fear. Az followed his gaze, finding herself looking at Tal's captive.

_Maybe they're related or something? _She thought to the others

_They're cousins_, that was Fi.

_How do you know? _asked Tal.

_I saw it in the one you have_, _he was thinking it, _replied Fi, meaning Tal's hostage.

_You know you probably scared him even more witless, reading his mind like that! _objected Theia.

_Nah, he's a strong one, he's fine_, replied Fi calmly.

"Let them go!" shouted the blonde, starting to look frantic.

"Hanabusa, calm down." muttered the dark, leader one. Hanabusa complied, though obviously reluctantly, and his gaze never left his cousin's face.

Az turned to Theia for a split second, opening the darkness under her hood so that her friend could see the question on her face, but none of the uniformed people could see her features.

_They're not lying, _came the mental answer, and Az nodded at Tal to release the two boys, removing their weapons from their throats and re-assuming their fighting stances in the same moment.

The two boys turned to face their captors instantly, and out of the corner of her eye, Az saw Tal lock eyes with the tall boy before her gaze was seized by the blonde stood in front of her.

She just stopped herself from gasping at his sheer beauty. But it was his eyes she couldn't look away from. The green emeralds sparkled in his face, hoping to catch a glimpse of hers. Her heart thudded against her ribs and she reacted instantly, drawing the darkness closer around her, to shield herself from the boy's intense gaze.

Meanwhile, Tal was mentally shouting and swearing her head off in astonishment, and Az just knew that beneath the darkness Tal would look just as shocked as she was. Az saw the boy lean, almost subconsciously, towards her, and she realised that she was doing the same thing. She felt that same attraction she had felt with the boy with the maroon hair the other day. At the thought of him, she felt a gaze boring into the darkness covering her face, knowing instantaneously that it was him. She tore her gaze from the blonde, and searched for a glimpse of maroon hair. She caught sight of him stood near the front, looking up at her and the blonde, his eyes staring straight at her.

"Takuma!" he shouted, his gaze flicking to the blonde, fear hinting his face. The blonde looked away from Az, leaning back again as the strange attraction broke, to catch sight of the maroon haired boy. He glanced back at Az, who was carefully keeping her features expressionless, then turned and ran down the staircase to join his friend at the bottom. They wrapped each other in a brief hug before instinctively turning around to look back at Az.

But Az wasn't paying attention to them. She had schooled herself long ago to be pretty much immune to the physical attractions of boys, knowing the pain it could lead to, and had turned to look at Tal.

The other boy was still there, and the two were still locked in each other's gazes. The boy's expression was trance-like, his eyes wide and body wavering slightly towards her. Tal was also leaning towards him, and Az could sense how stunned her friend was. Az sighed, and he hadn't even seen her face. That happened sometimes, boys were just attracted to the group due to their naturally hightened pheromones, and the girls had learnt to ignore the normal reactions, but these beautiful people were something else…

The boy named Hanabusa broke the spell between the two, "Akatsuki!" he shouted, causing Tal to look away, and the boy turned catching sight of his cousin he ran down the stairs, throwing a glance at Tal over his shoulder. Tal looked at him once before turning to the others.

_What was that all about! _Fi exclaimed.

_No idea…_replied Az and Tal simultaneously, though they were already turning their focus back to the situation at hand.

Az raised her knives again, letting the lamp light flash off their unforgiving black surfaces dangerously, and Tal raised her swords, twirling them expertly in her hands, and mentally laughing as some of the white-uniformed group went pale.

"Who are you?" asked Fi authoritatively.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" replied the leader with the black hair coolly.

"Just answer the question." said Tal, locking the boy's gaze with hers.

Some of the people in the crowd bristled at Tal's commanding tone, but did nothing.

"Very well," replied the boy, breaking out into a smile. "We are the Cross Academy Night Class, pleased to make your acquaintance. I would like to assure you that we mean you no harm."

_Slick one, _thought Az to the others.

"And you are?" asked Tal.

"I am Kaname Kuran, Dorm President," he said. "And you?"

Tal turned to Theia, who nodded. He was telling the truth, they didn't mean to harm them.

"I am Talia, but everyone calls me Tal." she replied calmly.

"My name is Sofia, aka Fi." said Fi, as Kaname's gaze turned on her.

"Alatheia, but call me Theia" said Theia warmly.

"Pu.. I mean Robert Goodfeller." answered Puck, lying about his actual name, seeing as they might recognise it, as Kaname's gaze fell on him.

Then he turned to Az, and Az could practically feel the weight of the gazes of everyone in the room as she said, "My name is Azrael, but call me Az."

"Well, you are all welcome to stay here as long as you would like." said Kaname, his smile directed straight at Tal, who Az just knew would be grinning right back.

"Would you do us the pleasure of letting us see your faces?" intervened the boy with the blonde hair and blue eyes, who was looking at Theia.

There was a murmur of agreement with the suggestion through the Night Class, who then turned to look at them expectantly. Az could feel the blonde and maroon haired boys staring at her, and caught sight of Akatsuki and Kaname watching Tal.

_Shall we? _asked Tal mentally.

_Well if we're going to stay then we might as well… _answered Fi.

They all took a deep breath, reached up, and cautiously lowered their hoods.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi again and sorry for the wait! XD So welcome to Chapter 6 and this is where we find out what the girls look like (da Da DAAAAA) :D sooooo fun times, and what are the reactions of the Night Class going to be? Should be funny! XD Any ways….. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I will love you forever coz I really need to know if its worth carrying on! OPINIONS PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or the Iron Fey or any of the characters in either. All other characters are OC's and for the record Matsuri Hino and Julie Kagawa are both pretty awesome…. Just sayinnnnnn :D

Chapter 5: Unveiled

Fi was the first to lower her hood. As the white material fell back from her face the thin, half-hearted darkness that had covered her features dissipated into the air, and she looked out at the Night Class.

Puck inched closer to her as the Night Class' eyes grew wide.

Then the door banged open and a tall figure with silvery hair barged in. "Why are you all stood around!" he shouted, "You're supposed to be in-" he trailed off, as he looked straight at Fi. Their gazes met and held. For an endless moment they just looked at each other, before Puck let out a low sound that sounded almost like a growl, causing Fi to look at him and break the eye contact.

"Holy shi…" muttered the silvarette, still gaping at Fi in awe.

Fi was ethereally beautiful, as they all were. She had rich, chocolate brown hair that fell in a riot of twisting curls to the middle of her back. Her eyes were an undecided mix of colours, starting at dark brown towards the pupil, green further out, and rimmed with a blue outline. She was the smallest of all of them, standing at around 5 foot 4 inches, and like the others, had a lean, hourglass figure. Her skin was slightly olive, and perfectly unblemished and smooth.

A couple of seconds after the silvarette's intrusion, the girl closest to him turned and whispered irritably, "Get out of here Zero, as you can see we're busy!"

Zero glared at her briefly and refused to budge, before continuing to gape at Fi. The girl just sighed in annoyance and turned their attention back to the five.

Theia was next to remove her hood, gaining wide eyes and even a gasp from Hanabusa, (to the others amusement) as her similarly perfect features were revealed. She was the tallest of the girls, at around 5'8', and she was the definition of imposing.

Her hair was really dark brown, almost black, but distinctly not quite there, and fell to the middle of her back, just like Fi. But it was her eyes that took people's breath away. They were a startling, perfectly clear, almost glowing blue. The colour was reminiscent of see-through seas in the Seychelles, and one got the feeling she could see right through anything you said to her. Which she could, actually…

As the four girls restrained laughs at the stunned expressions on the Night Class' faces, a reaction that they got quite frequently, Tal chose the moment to pull her hood down.

Tal was definitely the most dangerous looking of them all, with thick, unforgiving black hair that cut straight down to her waist in perfectly straight lengths. Her eyes were a greeny-blue colour presently, but like them all, they turned a very different colour, a symbol of their power, when she used her abilities. Her skin was the palest porcelain, of a silky, creamy smoothness that looked both fragile and hard as rock at the same time. She and Az shared the same austerely high cheekbones that were native to their House, as Theia and Fi shared the (different shades) brown hair of theirs.

The reaction to Tal's revealment was that the tall one with the burnt honey eyes froze in shock, and Kaname's mouth became an amusing "o" shape.

Tal laughed mentally, and the others smirked, causing the boy to blush ever so faintly.

_Weird, _thought Az to the others, _they're all so pale, and they barely blush at all… normally people blush a lot deeper than that around us… _with a cheeky mental wink.

_Well, me and Fi have been trying to figure it out for a few minutes now, all we can tell is that there's definitely something off about them, especially since they go to school at night… _, mused Theia in reply.

Then all the eyes turned to Az, interested, but wary. From experience, Az knew they would be expecting a boy. Probably a boy with ice-cold eyes, and short, mussed up black hair. Well, she always enjoyed watching the realisation dawn, even if she never liked the revealing herself part…

The others turned to look at her, Fi was watching her carefully, her eyes telling Az that she needed to take her hood down, if only to keep the uneasy peace between them and these Night Class people.

Az sighed, and with a deep breath, reluctantly pulled down her hood.

Instantly she flinched, taking in the wide eyes, gaping mouths, and complete surprise that always came with people seeing her face, and trying to get their heads round the contradiction to what they had expected. She hated to be scrutinized like this…

But, "to be perfectly honest, its no wonder people want to look at you!" as Fi had once told her, and Fi was kind of right.

With white hair that cascaded down to her hips and was streaked with hints of silver and gold, flickering in out of sight as her hair caught the light, and grey eyes, churning with unknown depths and abysses like the sea in a storm, she was a vision to look at. She had the same high cheekbones as Tal, but whereas for Tal they made her look predatory and dangerous, on Az they just heightened the sense of strange, deadly power. Her skin was a slightly darker olive than Fi's and just as perfectly unblemished.

But while Fi had a calm, light blue aura of intelligence, Theia a glittering silvery one of bluntness and truth, and Tal a black sapphire one of ferocity, Az was simply powerful. The air around her hinted at blackness when you looked out of the corner of your eye, but when she was angry she radiated blackness and a fear so terrible it consumed people whole, like the fear Tal exuded when she was pissed, but Tal's was fear of something different to Az's brand of terror. Looking out over the Night Class, she schooled her lips into an obnoxious smirk, a protective reflex to make herself seem untouchable. Yes, they were definitely not expecting a girl, never mind a girl who _looked _so sincerely…_good, _as she did. Especially since she was so obviously the opposite of it, if you looked hard enough.

With an effort, she drew her powers back into herself, imploring the others to do the same. They didn't want to overwhelm the Night Class when they were being offered a place to stay.

"So, would you mind if we stuck around for a while?" asked Theia carefully, probably watching for any signs of deception or bad intentions in their auras.

Instead, "You are welcome to stay here," Kaname said, smiling kindly, "but I am afraid that you may have to join the Day Class in order for you to be allowed dormitories." His tone was apologetic. He genuinely wanted them to stay, Az noticed that he kept glancing at Tal.

"So, where can we arrange this?" asked Az politely.

"With Headmaster Cross, we'll take you to him now, so we can sort out any details."

_It's safe, _reassured Theia, having checked Kaname for… ulterior motives.

Just as they were about to start walking down the stairs, Az stopped, turning to Kaname and saying, "Why can't we join the Night Class?"

She inquired pleasantly, but the look in her eyes was suspicious.

Kaname froze, and she could practically see his mind racing.

"The Night Class is for… a certain kind of people." he answered hesitantly.

Az looked meaningfully at Theia and Fi.

_I can't see what sort of "special people" they are!_

_Me neither! _came the slightly frustrated replies.

_But they are definitely not lying, _supplemented Theia.

_Well if they don't want to tell us, then we hunt around till we find out later… _came Tal's suggestion.

_Deal. _Replied the three other voices.

Az became aware that Kaname was watching them, and she smiled at him sweetly before walking purposefully past the others, towards the large front doors. This way, she could protect and guide them at the same time.

Tal followed suit, catching up to walk next to Az, their shoulders almost touching. They looked invincible.

Theia followed behind, right next to Fi, and Puck guarded the back cautiously. All of them let their power forge a way ahead through the ranks of the Night Class.

Then Kaname strode to the front of the group, catching Tal's eye, almost shyly, before leading them down a quaint path bordered by softly glowing orange lights towards the main building complex.

They walked until they reached the other side of the buildings, until all that stood in front of them was a residential-looking…house?

Kaname led them towards the house-thing and Az caught him cast a furtive glance into the trees on either side of them out of the corner of her eye.

She followed his gaze and nudged Tal, indicating the trees where they could faintly see two shapes lurking. They glanced to the other side, being careful to look innocent, and saw three more shapes there. The two girls tensed, and without a word moved into fighting stance, whilst still walking.

Tal clenched her fist by her side. As she did so, a burst of flame illuminated the shapes on each side, allowing the girls to see their faces for the briefest moment before a short douse of water put the flames out. Az glanced back at Fi and Theia, relaxing as Theia nodded at her and Fi grinned. The shapes had been the boys from the Night Class. The pretty blonde called Hanabusa, the wheat-blonde and maroon-haired ones that Az would really like to know the names of…

And the gingery one named Akatsuki Kain, who's name Theia had seen in the pretty blonde's words.

_It's a guard, not an ambush _sighed Theia mentally, sounding relieved_._

_A guard from what though? _Replied Az, and she felt Tal tense beside her at the thought of Rowan or Thornguards lurking somewhere in the bushes.

Az shook her head and focussed, trying not to think about the wheat-blondes' heartbeat against hers or the maroons' beautiful eyes. Jeez! What was wrong with her?! She hadn't been like this about a boy/boys since…

Never mind.

They had reached the doors to the house now and Az resisted the urge to pull her hood up again.

Then the main door opened and the silvarette looked out, he must have beaten them back here. His gaze was cold, but purposefully so, like he was trying not to react to them. His eyes locked with Kaname's and a silent conversation passed between them, then the boy scowled, opening the door so that they could pass, but the look he gave them was absolutely frigid. So Tal grinned widely and dangerously at him, of course. She loved to try and make people feel intimidated, to be honest, she didn't need to bother, Az and Tal had that effect on people anyway, whereas Fi and Theia were slightly more approachable.

Kaname quickly started up the staircase that had greeted them after the front door, climbing effortlessly before leading them down a corridor to reach a solid oak door. A small beam of warm yellow light leaked from under the door, lighting the dark corridor with a homey feel to it. Az looked around inquisitively, and she saw the others doing the same. Curiosity had taken hold of them as they took in the Japanese artwork on the walls, the beautiful sketches and paintings, the thick, warm carpet that they stood on that stretched all the way down the corridor, from end to end.

Kaname rapped on the door authoritatively. "Come in!" came the reply, a man's voice. Kaname opened the door and strode confidently tot eh centre of the room.

A man sat at a polished desk, working at some papers, a few of the many that seemed to be littered around the room.

He looked up as they came in, and Az saw a flash of kind blue eyes. "Ah! So these are the impromptu guests hat had the Night Class all riled up then!" he exclaimed.


End file.
